Inflatable ball



Feb. 28, 1928.

F. DI ETERLE INFLATABLE BALL Filed June 28, 1927 @@MWM y WW1 y Patented Feb. 28, 1928. j

UNITEDsTArEs 1,660,378 PATENT 'oler-ica ,FRANK DIETERLE, 0F PHILADEIJPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO A.. 'J'. kREACH COMPANY, 'OF PHILADELPHIA, IENNSYIJVANIA, A CORPORATION.

IN FLATABLE BALL.

. Appiicatioii ineal :rune 2s, 1927. serial No. 202,047.

VMy said inventionrrelates to improvements in inflatable playing balls of the type having an outer cover customarily of leather` and an inner inflatable bladder insertable and removable through a slit in the coverv closed by lacing. v

Balls of this kind are subjected to a great deal of strain and wear. `p

With the old style and generally used type of closure embodying a single lacing: passed back and forth through a single row of holes in each closure edge, it'was necessary to use an extra heavy strip or thong of raw hide of approximately one-eighth inch in thickness.

This was found objectionabley for two reasons:

lst. The thickness of the lacing thong produce-d projections which affected the rebound of the ball which was particularly objectionable in basket balls where accuracy of rebound is an important factor.

2nd. The single lacing through two parallel rows of holes (one row on each side of the slit) was open to the serious objection that it caused the margins of the closure opening to creep longitudinally ofl eachv other producing bunching of the cover.

One method of avoiding this latter objection was to provide a double lacing through a single set of holes, the lacing being so threaded through the said holes as to provide a two ply lace crossing the slit at right angles on the outside of the cover, and single plies crossing the slitdiagonally on the inside. This, while reducing the tendency to creep, aggravated the trouble due to exterior thickness of lacing by reason of said double thickness on the exterior, as if the lace was made thin enough to avoid this, the exterior ply would soon wear through. A

The present invention aims to provide a ball free from these objections and having a single lacin thong so arranged that the creeping of t e closure edges is avoided with, at the same time, a minimum of exterior thickness or projection of lacing.

With such objects in view the invention includes the novel construction hereinafter described and defined by the appended claims.

In order that the invention may be better understood reference is made to the accom-v panying 'drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of abasket y ball embodying the said invention. V

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the lace portion of `the ball, and i The basket ball shownin-thesaid drawing Fig. 3 is asecti'on on line l3 3 ofFig. 2.

\ plurality of sections l of leather'having their juxtaposed edges secured together by stitch-` ing in the customary or any desired manner. For a suitable distance twoof said juxtaposed edges are left unstitched to provide a bladder inserting opening or closure slit as indicated at 2. The bladder is not shown in the drawings as it forms no part of the n present invention, and its construction and method of insertion and inflation will be well understood by those skilled in the art withoutfurther reference thereto.

Disposed inside the cover and stitched t0 the cover portions on each side of the slit or opening 2 are reenforcing strips 3 secured to the cover portions by lines of stitching indicated at 4.

. Located in the cover portions along each v side of the slit 2 and extending through the cover-portions and reenforcemen-ts are two rows of lace receiving openings 5 and 6. The openings 5 are arranged relatively close to the respective slit forming edges of the cover portions and are directly opposite each other while the openings 6 are located further back and are staggered relative to the openings 5. 7 designates the lacing thong of raw hide or other suitable material which is preferably in the shape of a single thong or lace, the ends of which are passed first through the two outside openings at one end (designated 6 for identication.) from the inside Vproducing an underlying cross connecting portion 7a. l'lhereafter each thong portion is carried diagonally across the `slit and threaded through the next adjacent opening 5,from theoutside whereafter it is carried across the slit on the inside face of the' cover portion and threaded through the next adjacent opening 6 from the inside and-so on. It will thus be seen kthat the thong portions extend diagonally across the slit opening, from the outsideV openings onone side of the slit to the inyside openings on the other, and vice versa,

` tion relative to those .extending from'the Y ness of lacing thong on'the outside of the:

other set of outside openings asiindioated respectively at a and. b, the underlying'porL tions being similarly reversed as indicatedA at a and o. l

the only place where there is a double tliiclrballis Where the portions a and b cross as indicated at a2 which overlapfconiesoppositei rovvs'being opposite each other and the open# ingsof the outer rows beingr staggered: rela- Y tivetl1eret'0,r and lacing means passing from.v

the slit. y

The ends of the lace mayv be secured by sucking` intol the slit under the overlying crossed lace portions: in" any desired manne-r. 8 indicates the customaryV flap secured at one edge. asby stitchingl and having-` the other end free and designed tolie between the bladder` and the lacing;

Having thus describedl my invention, what isi` claimed is:`

1. In an iniiatable balLa cover provided e-With a slit constituting a bladder insertion opening, said cover having inner and outer With a slitconstit'uting a bladder insertion opening, said cover having inner andouter rows of spacedl apertures ineach of the margmsrof thexslit the openings of the inner the openings of each outer rou7 to` the ad jacentopenings of'fthe innerrow on the op posite= side of the slit.

V3. An infiatable ball according" to claim 2i iii-Which the' lacing portionscross eachiotler on a line coinciding with the space between tlie cover edges definingthe-slit;

In testimony Whereol aiiix mysign'ature.

` FRANK DIETERLE. 

